Life Lesson

You’re only as strong as the weakest person on your team.

The experience people have with your brand is upheld by the person you pay the least.

Your five-star dining experience can be shattered by a bathroom that hasn’t been cleaned—because the person responsible is often thought of last.

Your cutting-edge software solution still falls flat when a prospect waits three days for a reply from the overwhelmed support rep—who also happens to be the most junior person in the org.

It’s easy to champion innovation, excellence, and customer obsession.

It’s harder—but far more impactful—to champion everyone responsible for making those ideals real, especially the ones who rarely get thanked, spotlighted, or invited to strategy meetings.

Stay Positive & Focus On The Least

There’s no auto-sorter of our priorities.

No auto-labeler, either.

That’s on us.

To make time or not.

To prioritize or not.

Stay Positive & Make Time, While Time Lasts, All Time Is No Time If Time Has Passed

It doesn’t just give you the psychological upper hand to offer two options; it gives you the creative exercise to explore two options.

The freedom to do one that meets spec and one that is impervious to judgement; that cross is where magic happens.

The trouble is… no one is going to ask you for it, expect it from you or chastise you for not. This is a creation from no source of fear; only desire. The desire to break a status quo, try something different, and offer a piece of you in the work…. a type of original, really.

Stay Positive & Make The Time For An Alt Version

You wouldn’t want a surgeon that has never read a book about surgery to perform on you.

You wouldn’t want a surgeon that read a book 20 years ago about surgery to perform on you, either.

Doing the reading is necessary of a professional. But so is doing it again. And again. And again.

This reminder comes from a recent experience with a sales rep that more than a year ago clicked through slides about his target market based on customer research done by a remarkable person. I was asked a question by him that was answered so completely and thoroughly in that deck. I couldn’t help but wonder how more effective he could have been at his job if he had done that reading…again and often.

Stay Positive & Easy? Nah. Worth It? Yah.

You’re nearly there. Momentum has taken over. There’s no stopping it.

But that’s fine. There merely needs to be stopping the brain about it.

A moment to reflect, ask interesting questions, and mentally plan for success or failure.

More often than not, being almost to the end is a cop out from the work of pausing, scrutinizing, and, ya know, maybe delaying the completion (but for the right reasons, of course).

Our brains suck at letting us do this. Best you schedule it on the calendar the day before “done” is supposed to happen.

Stay Positive & Save Yourself The Frustration Of Having To Restart Something That’s Finished

“I’ve done this before” gets you the credibility, but it lacks a necessary element to ensure repeat success: trust.

“And here’s why it’ll work here” is the necessary talk track to get the buy-in and support you need.

There’s respect in the empathy it takes to realize that this is not that, but it is like it.

Just look at the way the successful growth brands describe themselves. You’ll see language “We’re like X but for Y.”

Take what worked and apply elements of the present focus to it.

Stay Positive & Credibility + Trust = Effectiveness

The emotion you’re embracing isn’t as important as that you embrace it.

Embracing it means you’re dancing with it. Working with it. Good or bad; you’re making the most of it.

Embracing happiness is better than telling yourself you don’t deserve it. Embracing anger is better than sweeping it under the rug. Embracing guilt gets you to a resolution faster than blaming someone for your action.

We need not always a different emotion; we simply need to embrace the one we’re facing better.

Stay Positive & Different Isn’t Always Better; Better Is Better